Perceptions of Reality
by Queen of the Castle
Summary: Ten/Rose. The Doctor drags Rose along to a science fair on 21st century Earth. Or does he?


"Are you all right? Rose?"

Rose looked around from the exhibit. The Doctor suddenly looked inexplicably concerned.

She grinned. "Why wouldn't I be? Oh, all right, maybe I am a little bored."

"Bored," the Doctor repeated, his brow creasing. "What are you doing, exactly?"

"Just 'immersing myself in the quaint little human experiments', like you said."

The Doctor's frown deepened. "I didn't say that," he said slowly.

"Sure you did," Rose said. Honestly. He ran off at the mouth so much that he couldn't even remember half of what he said to her. Big Time Lord brain, maybe, but in the end he was still such a man. "I figured, I might as well try everything out."

"What kind of everything?" the Doctor asked.

"This," Rose said, with a sweeping gesture at the room around her. "And I know they put this button here as some sort of psychological test or whatever, just to see who touches it, but I still want to see if _something _happens."

"That button?" the Doctor asked, sounding oddly fearful.

Rose frowned back at him. "Yeah. The red one. Right in front of you. It's not like you can miss it. It's huge. Are_ you _all right?"

"I really would rather you didn't press it," the Doctor said pleadingly.

Rose laughed. "Oh come on, Doctor, like it says, nothing's gonna happen. Well, there might be some message about how I'm stupid for touching it, but I just wanna see."

"I'm pretty certain something _will_ happen, actually," the Doctor said. "A rather not-good sort of something. An 'end of the universe' something, perhaps."

Rose shook her head indulgently, looking back down at the button. "You're so ridiculous. It's just a button. Just a... sort of... blurry button. Hey, can you see that? It looks all odd now. 'S weird."

"Rose, please, take your hand away from the button."

"But it's just..."

Rose closed her eyes, suddenly very tired.

She felt arms catching her as she keeled over.

* * *

Something cool and wet touched her forehead.

"Nnnhuh?" Rose asked as she squinted into the overly bright room.

"Relax."

"Doctor?"

"Yeah," he said. "Just me. Hello."

"What happened?"

The Doctor moved into Rose's line of vision. He stroked a wet cloth gently down each side of her face.

"What do you remember?" he asked.

"You took me to one of those stupid Earth science fairs," Rose said. She started rolling her eyes at him, but that made her head hurt. "Said you thought they were 'charming', but I've figured out by now that that's just egotistical Time Lord Code for 'hilariously primitive'. Still, I went and looked around like you said. At least I think I did. It's kind of hard to remember."

"Rose," the Doctor said. "There was no science fair. Not really."

Rose paused, confused. "No, but there was a button. One of those silly 'nothing'll happen if you press this' buttons. I remember it."

"There wasn't. Or, well, there _was_ a button. But we were in the TARDIS. The button was on the console, not at some science fair."

Rose tried to focus on the memory. "No, hang on," she said. "I think... something about the end of the universe?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah. That button you were going to press? Well, consider the Big Bang. Then think bigger. Much bigger."

"Oh," Rose said, sheepish. "So that sign was a bit misleading, then, with its 'nothing will happen'. Just as well you stopped me from pressing it."

"There was no sign," the Doctor reminded her. "We weren't at a fair."

"No, but really Doctor, I _remember_ it," Rose insisted.

"I know you do," the Doctor replied kindly. "You were having a hallucination. You picked up a nasty virus on Callufrax VII. Do you remember landing there?"

"Um ..." Rose started, trailing off uncertainly.

"Don't worry," the Doctor stepped in quickly. "You'll probably recall it soon enough. Besides, completely dull planet. You're not missing anything. Never going back _there_ again."

"Because it was boring," Rose said, smiling slightly.

"Yep."

"Nothing at all to do with me gettin' sick there?"

"Not even a little," he said, straight-faced.

Rose grinned.

The Doctor leaned forward, then, and pressed his lips against Rose's forehead, holding them there for a few seconds.

Well, Rose thought. That was different. Sort of nice, actually. All right, _really_ nice.

He pulled away and smiled. "Thirty-six point eight degrees Celsius," he announced cheerfully.

"Huh?"

"Your temperature," he explained. "You were running a fever. It seems to have broken."

"Oh," Rose said. "That's why ... lips ..."

Rose stopped and silently cursed her still-muddled brain. Had she really just said that out loud?

"That's why lips," the Doctor answered with a smirk. "Very good for analysing things, mouths."

"Sure," Rose muttered under her breath. "'Cause what else would you use 'em for?"

"I can think of a few things," the Doctor replied, apparently having heard her just fine.

Damn Time Lord senses, Rose thought.

Perhaps, though, she didn't mind so much that he'd heard her. That had sounded quite promising, after all.

But, typically, he just turned away to putter about the infirmary looking for something. The moment was completely lost.

Rose didn't think she'd ever met anyone who confused her as much as the Doctor did. Then again, she didn't think she'd ever known someone she was as interested in figuring out as him, either. A bit of confusion over his odd alien quirks was a small price to pay.

"So I'm gonna be all right, then?" Rose asked.

"'All right'?" the Doctor scorned, indignant. "Rose Tyler, you know better than that. As if I'd ever settle for you being just 'all right'. By the time I'm done fixing you up, you're going to be magnificent."

"More than usual?" Rose teased.

The Doctor shook his head. "Just the same as you always are," he said with a soft smile.

Rose wondered whether she could write her blush off as the fever making an unexpected reappearance.

~FIN~


End file.
